Lively, decorous debate on President's address

Page 17, March 4, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
LIVELY and decorous exchanges characterised the beginning of the debate of the President’s State of the Nation’s address which he delivered to the House last Thursday.
While the address, which touched on various aspects of the social, economic and political sectors of the country, received commendations from the Majority members who contributed to the debate, MPs from the Minority side maintained their stand that the address woefully failed to address the real needs of the people.
The NDC MP for Garu-Tempani, Mr Dominic Azumah, who moved the motion to thank the President for the address, said the President deserved high commendation for what he described as “his remarkable submissions”.
“In his usual calm, humorous and intelligent presentation, the President has indeed proven to all Ghanaians that he is President for all,” he said.
Mr Azumah explained that by his reconciliatory message and the invitation for the inter-party collaboration, the President had exhibited he would move the country forward.
He said with the economic challenges in 2008 arising from several factors including the world economic meltdown, the country needed a well economic management team to take bold and difficult measures to be able to achieve fiscal and microeconomic stability.
Mr Azumah stated that through the sterling performance of the President and his team, the economic paradigm of the nation would now shift from dependence on traditional raw material exports, such as cocoa, gold and timber, to diversified commodities, adding that that was a sure way of creating jobs for the youth.
He said the address made it amply clear that the President had recognised agriculture as the mainstay of the country’s economy and thus taken measures to move it a step further by the establishment of a buffer stock management agency, which would in the course of the year, rehabilitate 12 warehouses of the Ghana Food Distribution Corporation.
Mr Azumah stated that the fertiliser subsidy programme was also being expanded to all crop farmers throughout the country.
He said with the formation of premix and beach landing committees last year, the issue of premix diversion had been brought under control.
On education, Mr Azumah argued that the President, recognising that the NDC was a social democratic party, had instituted the free uniforms concept for basic schools, free education for the disabled, refurbishment of science laboratories, abolishment of the school shift system and the elimination of schools under trees.
The MP also touched on security and said statistics currently showed that armed robbery, murder, rape and narcotic offences were on decline, and commended the security forces for a good work done.
He said the government, as stated by the President, would continue to strengthen the human and material resources of the security agencies to enable them to safeguard lives and property.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Essikado-Ketan, Mr Joe Ghartey, who seconded the motion moved by Mr Azumah, said it was unfortunate that the President failed to tell the people the state of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
To him, the scheme was now an apology of itself as beneficiaries were now supplied with only cheap medicines such as “codeine and APC”.
Mr Ghartey stated that nothing was also said about human rights issues in the country, and called for the abolition of section 208 of the Criminal Code which criminalised freedom of speech.
He accused the President of running away from his own promise during the 2008 election campaign in which he promised to put money in the pockets of Ghanaians.
Mr Ghartey explained that even though the NDC professed to be socially democratic, it was the NPP which actually implemented policies aimed at putting money in the pockets of the people.
He mentioned policies such as the Capitation Grant, the School Feeding Programme, the Metro Mass Transit and the LEAP as some of the Kufuor government’s initiatives that aimed at alleviating the plight of the poor in society.
Other MPs who contributed to the debate include the Minister of Communications and NDC MP for Tamale South, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, and the MP for Nsuta-Beposo-Kwamang, Mr Kwame Osei-Prempeh.